Deep Impact
by Zatcher
Summary: Something is headed for the Wizarding world, and Harry is one of the first to witness it's effects. What do you do when you know the apocalypse may be at your doorstep?


**Author: This one has been sitting on my computer for a while. I didn't publish it because I was so sure I wouldn't continue it, but I re-read it this morning and... I liked it. :D I love it when that happens, I'll write something, get bored of it and think it's not good enough, then months later I'll go back to it, having completely forgotten everything and just be delighted by it. xD Anyway... I want to see if you all are delighted by it too, or think it has some premise. Yes, this is a Harry/Luna fic, but the plot is much deeper than that... Anyway, tell me what you think, and I'll see if I continue it.**

Day 1: Precursor

"Space: What lies beyond it? What exists beyond the tiny dot that is our world? Does there exist more than what we see? More than it's patterns and shapes? More than myths and legends? For hundreds of years, both Wizards and Muggles alike have sought to unravel the mysteries of the universe, to surpass that final of frontiers, to--"

Harry did not get to read the rest of that sentence, for at that precise moment, a Quaffle took it upon itself to come crashing through the window, and onto his unsuspecting head. However, he did, before blacking out, have the opportunity to scream "RON!" at the top of his lungs, and then he was out like a light before even hitting the floor.

_"Are you sure he's not dead?" "Of course I'm sure he's not dead!" "Ron, how could you have been so irresponsible?" "Blame it all on me, why don't you? Fred's the one who passed it wrong . . ." "I wasn't throwing it to you, I was throwing it to George." "Sure, throw me the blame, too. If ickle Ron hadn't gotten in the way--" "Quiet you three! I think he's waking up. Harry? Harry? Harry, are _you all right?"

"Where am I?" he mumbled.

"On your living room couch, mate," replied George, who was sitting near his feet.

"A few inches to the right and that Quaffle might've killed you. Only scraped the back of your head, though," added Fred, standing behind George.

"I managed to close up the cut. You still have a nasty bump, but it should clear up in a day or two," said Hermione standing next to him, with Ron next to her, looking quite sheepish.

"If it makes you feel any better Harry," he began, "this is all Fred's fault."

"Oi! That's a bloody lie!"

"Oh, can't you three ever be in the same room without starting something? What were you doing playing Quidditch in Harry's _front_ yard, anyway?"

"It so happens that the grass is greener there," defended Fred.

"Don't give me that rubbish, it was reckless."

"Well, how were we supposed to know Harry'd be reading by the window?"

"Because it's a _window_, you can _see_ through it."

"You just have an answer for everything, don't you?" asked George.

"Shut up."

"Oh, good comeback Ronnie. All your life you've known us, and that's the best you can come up with?"

Harry began to laugh as he sat up and soon everyone seemed to calm down. It wasn't really that they were good company, it just always cheered him up whenever Ron and the Twins were around. After a long day of work it was always lifting to hear them argue about the most trivial of things, which is why he invited them over quite a lot. They usually played Quidditch for a while, poking fun at Ron's (rare) bad passes. Dean, Seamus and Neville swung by every so often to play too, and it had become a sort of unspoken agreement that Harry and Neville always be in the same team (as all of Harry's prowess in the field equaled all of Neville's accidents). Ginny came by occasionally (much to Harry's awkwardness), with Luna in tow every so often (to Harry's relief, since Luna was always a huge distraction). Only Ginny ever got on a broom, but Luna's commentary while everyone else played was always the best part, anyway.

"Good thing I don't have to show up at work tomorrow," said Harry, carefully running his fingers over the huge bump on the back of his head. "Ow! Good thing you came by, Hermione."

"We called her in, actually. First name that hit our heads," grinned Fred. George mirrored his expression.

"Yeah. We could've bailed, but then we'd've ended up on _Unsolved Mysteries_, probably. They have a Wizard edition now, you know."

"Seriously though, sorry about that."

"It's fine Ron, I get hit on the head a lot more than you'd think . . ."

They all grinned as Hermione noticed the time on the clock hanging from the wall. "We should all probably go home. It's getting a bit late."

"Yeah, Fred and I have to be up early tomorrow. We're unveiling a new kind of Skiving Snackbox. We're getting complaints that schools have gotten wise to the old ones . . ."

"And we have to work all day," added Ron.

"So I don't suppose I'll be having company tomorrow, eh?"

"Well, we'll tell Ginny if she can swing by to check on you," said Fred.

It was a good thing that Hermione knew how uncomfortable Harry would be if it was just him and Ginny, so before the conversation could go any further, she ushered everyone out the door, only turning her head to whisper "I'll take care of it." Harry whispered back "Thanks," and then Hermione closed the door and they were gone. He locked the door using his wand and turned off all the lights as he made his way upstairs.

He picked up the book he'd been reading and pulled open the attic door. He also grabbed a blanket for when he fell asleep, and proceeded up the ladder. He didn't know why he liked spending so much time up there at night, but he did it almost every day. He usually just sat on a chair he had there, staring out of the large, circular window, just looking at the moon and stars until he fell asleep. It wasn't something he did out of feeling unhappy, in fact, his life was going quite well. Working as an Auror was a very interesting job when it came right down to it. It was rarely about dealing with criminals, and more often about investigations into strange happenings, cases without answers, and explaining paranormal phenomena (which, in the Wizarding world was, more often than not, just "phenomena"). Staring at the night sky from the attic was simply something Harry enjoyed doing for no particular reason.

The book he'd been looking at all day was tittled: _Space: Is the truth out there?_, and it was actually turning out to be quite interesting. Or at least the few minutes he'd spent scanning it had been, right up until he'd been mauled by a Quaffle. He'd spotted the book trapped between the seat and armrest of the couch as he was about to head upstairs for his broom. He was gonna fly out the window when he got caught up reading the beginning paragraph.

He wondered for a while how the book had gotten there, but whatever the book's origin's, for now, he flipped it open to no particular page, and landed on a chapter written on stars, and how they were of use in Astronomy, what they were made of, and where they'd come from. It referenced the Muggle "Bing Bang" theory, as well as a few Wizard ones, all of which were quite interesting. Harry soon found himself flipping page after page, completely taken in by the book. _"The element known as Hydrogen is a key component in the inner-workings of stars . . ." ". . . of such swirling power. They are known as Black Holes . . ." ". . . speculated that magic may have emerged in this very way . . ." "These, 'falling stars', are as good as messengers from space. They are best seen at night, and look just as their name describes them."_

Harry looked up from the book and outside the window. He could swear he saw smoke outside. He stood up to get a better look, but all he saw was the Burrow in the distance. Just in case, he stood there a few minutes, not taking his eyes off the scenery. A few minutes passed before he was sure he'd just imagined it, but just as he was about to turn around, he spotted three dark silhouettes atop a hill in the distance, all of them covered in hoods. They were looking straight at him. Without taking his eyes off them, he reached for his wand on the table next to him, and no sooner had his fingers wrapped around it than an unimaginably bright flash of light left him stunned in place. What Harry saw was a colossal wall of dust engulfing everything in sight. The window before him shattered into thousands of pieces, a golden streak of light shot up from below, and a shock wave sent him flying across the room. He slammed against the wall and fell to the floor.

---

It was a few seconds before Harry was able to see again, by which time there was someone else in the room trying to help him to his feet.

"Who are you?" he asked, holding his neck, which had been sprained in the impact.

"It's Luna, Harry. We have to hurry and get out of here in case there's another one."

Still dizzy from hitting his already injured head, Harry tripped over his own foot -- he threw down a hand to stop himself, but Luna had his other arm securely around her neck. His fingers grazed a square object on the floor, and realized it was the book, which he immediately tightened his grip on.

"Another what?" he asked through clenched teeth, trying not to scream out in pain.

"Hold on a minute--"

Harry felt Luna's grip slacken for a moment, and the next thing he knew, they were both gently floating down through the basement entrance. It surprised Harry how strong Luna was, as she was practically having to drag him along every step of the way. He stopped her when they were at the stairs and opened a door that might've been a closet.

"We can Disapparate from in here--"

Without question, Luna led the both of them into the enclosed space, managing to shut the door behind her.

"Try to relax a bit, we're going a bit of a long way."

And with an echoing 'pop', they vanished. When Harry next opened his eyes, he felt a rush of familiarity and smiled happily at the realization that they were in Hagrid's hut. Whatever had just happened, they were completely safe here . . . He looked around and saw Hagrid (just emerging from the door) smile and wave at him; Mrs. Weasley by the window, a look of surprise on her face, and Mr. Weasley, doing a double take at Harry from a chair next to her. As dark as it was, Harry could still just make out the silhouette of Hogwarts in the background beyond the window. But before he had any more time to relish being surrounded by so many familiar things, he realized something was terribly wrong. Everyone's faces were suddenly a mix of shock and horror. Mr. Weasley immediately stood up, following his wife who was upon Harry and Luna in seconds. Luna's grip disappeared completely and Harry fell to the floor. He managed to stand up by leaning against the wall as he watched Mr. and Mrs. Weasley carry Luna onto Hagrid's gigantic bed. Seeing her lie there, motionless, he had the sudden vision of a toy doll left in the room of a forgetful child.

In the suddenness of everything, Harry had not seen nor felt the blood slowly seeping into the side of his shirt. He quickly scanned himself for injury, but only in the vague hope that it was not Luna's.

He looked over at her, and at a tearful Mrs. Weasley doing her absolute best to heal whatever was causing Luna to bleed so profusely--

It was too much. Just too much... He couldn't take it anymore and emptied his stomach right there and then.

---

**Author: The beam that "shot up" was Luna casting a spell to protect Harry from the worst of the explosion, which is why he didn't have any blood on him. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were not at home when it happened as they were busy with other matters, which is why they did not pick Harry up, as they were unaware that anything had happened. Hagrid's hut was the first place Luna thought of, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley being there was just a coincidence. Anyway, hope you enjoyed!**


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